Put On the Garment of Righteousness

 “I sleep, but my heart waketh: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, My dove, my undefiled: For my head is filled with dew, And my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat; How shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; How shall I defile them?”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s song says, “After this I let my devotion slumber, but my heart for him stayed awake. I had a dream. I dreamed of my beloved— he was coming to me in the darkness of night. The melody of the man I love awakened me. I heard his knock at my heart’s door as he pleaded with me: I have already laid aside my own garments for you. How could I take them up again since I’ve yielded my righteousness to yours? You have cleansed my life and taken me so far. Isn’t that enough?”  In Hebrew this means “My head is filled with dew and my hair with the drops of the night.”  This is the picture of Jesus as the Gethsemane Man, the One Who prayed all night for us.  Garments are used as a picture of righteousness.  Filthy garments are a symbol of unrighteousness or self-righteousness.  Clean white garments are a picture of the righteousness of Christ.  The Shulamite laying aside her coat or garments is symbolic of what happens when we come to know Jesus as Saviour - we lay aside our self-righteousness and take up His garments of true righteousness.  That’s why many who are so filled with self-righteousness are weak in declaring with confidence the true Gospel of righteousness that we have which comes from knowing Christ, the power of His  resurrection, and the participation in His sufferings. It includes being conformed to His  death.  Let’s nail to the Cross every self-righteousness in us prophesy “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  Amen!

Passed from Judgment & Embraced Christ’s Righteousness

 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple recorded Jesus’s words, “And when He comes, He will expose sin and prove that the world is wrong about God’s righteousness and His judgments. ‘Sin,’ because they refuse to believe in Who I Am.  God’s ‘righteousness,’ because I Am going back to join the Father and you’ll see Me no longer. And ‘judgment’ because the ruler of this dark world has already received his sentence.”  Sin, righteousness and judgment are related to three.  Sin is related to Adam for it was through Adam sin entered humanity.  “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”. Righteousness is related to Christ because it comes through Him and He has become our righteousness.  Judgment is related to satan, for the pure works of Christ bring judgment to the works of satan.  If we do not embrace Christ’s righteousness, we will share satan’s judgment.  For God made the only One Who  did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God through our union with Him.  We are so blessed to have passed from judgment because we have embraced the righteousness of God in Christ.  Amen!

The Resurrected Christ Reflected in the Sacred Spices & Fruit

 “Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, With pleasant fruits; Camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s song says, “Your inward life is now sprouting, bringing forth fruit.  What a beautiful paradise unfolds within you.  When I’m near you, I smell aromas of the finest spice, for many clusters of my exquisite fruit now grow within your inner garden. Here are the nine: pomegranates of passion, henna from heaven, spikenard so sweet, saffron shining, fragrant calamus from the cross, sacred cinnamon, branches of scented woods, myrrh, like tears from a tree, and aloe as eagles ascending.”  Every fruit and spice reflects the resurrected Christ.  Pomegranate is taken from a word that means “exalted”.  Solomon’s temple had pillars adorned with pomegranates.  Henna’s root word is “ransom price” or “redemption” - this fruit of mercy is seen in Christ’s maturing Bride.  Spikenard’s root word is “light” and Christ’s Bride is walking in the Light as He is the Light.  Saffron is the crocus, the lover’s perfume, costly and fragrant.  Calamus is a marsh plant known as “sweet flag” which produces fragrant oil and its root word is “purchased” or “redeemed”. Cinnamon emits a fragrance that is holiness to the Lord and was used in the sacred anointing oil of the priests and the tabernacle, an incense burned on the golden altar of the Holy Place.  Myrrh is a resin spice formed by cutting a tree, known as “tears from a tree” - it is a picture of the suffering love of Christ dripping down from Calvary’s tree.  Aloe is considered a healing balm - the Presence of the Lord in the Bride is released as a healing balm.  Jesus’s robes smelled of aloes.  Another name for aloes is “eagle wood” and like eagles we fly above our wounds, free from the past as we walk in intimacy with Him.  Amen! ‎

Chosen by Our God for Such a Time as This

 “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.that”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As John the beloved disciple recorded, “You show that you are My intimate friends when you obey all that I command you. I have never called you ‘servants,’ because a master doesn’t confide in his servants, and servants don’t always understand what the master is doing. But I call you My most intimate and cherished friends, for I reveal to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. You didn’t choose Me, but I’ve chosen and commissioned you to go into the world to bear fruit. And your fruit will last, because whatever you ask of My Father, for My sake, He will give it to you!”  When our obedience to our Lord Jesus becomes a habit, we will find intimacy in our personal relationship with Him.  No longer will we be guilty or ashamed, feeling condemned like a slave, but our emotions will be able to accept that we are chosen and beloved of God.  Actually, the Lord has cared for us from our mother’s womb.  We are more than a friend to Him for we are born again from His wounded side.  We grow into maturity and character, going into our calling and ministry, according to the will of the Father.  Amen!

Prayers of God’s People as Incense before God

 “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant?”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭3‬:‭6‬ ‭KJV

Solomon’s song says, “Who is this one ascending from the wilderness in the pillar of the glory cloud? He is fragrant with the anointing oils of myrrh and frankincense — more fragrant than all the spices of the merchant.”  These spices  were the ingredients of the sacred anointing oil used by the high priest in the temple, as Scripture tells us.  Myrrh points to the suffering and death of Christ, while frankincense reveals the fragrance of His perfect life and ministry.  When the high priest burnt these spices before the ark of the covenant, the Presence of God came down there.  But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the One Who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.    As John the revelator saw in his vision, our prayers are taken by the angel with a gold incense burner who came and stood at the altar, and a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.  Today, in the new covenant we are called as priests and our prayers go up to our God as incense.  May our prayers be according to God’s will always.  Amen!

God Makes Believers His Dwelling Place

 “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.it wereso”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John, the beloved disciple recorded what Jesus said, “My Father’s house has many dwelling places. If it were otherwise, I would tell you plainly, because I go to prepare a place for you.”  Jesus says there are many homes and resting places in His Father’s household.  He had mentioned His Father’s house earlier when He had driven the money collectors out of the temple in Jerusalem, as He told the merchants, “Get these things out of here! Don’t you dare commercialize My Father’s house!”  The temple was God’s dwelling place on earth, among His people.  Today, in the new covenant, His dwelling place is the Body of Christ, the Church, and there is ample room for people from every nation and ethnicity and room to spare!  As Paul says so aptly, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in Whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in Whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  Every believer is now one of the many dwelling places that make up God’s house.  Let’s believe what Jesus said, “Loving Me empowers you to obey My Word. And My Father will love you so deeply that We will come to you and make you Our dwelling place.”  Amen!

Christ is Our Beloved and We are His

 “Take us the foxes, The little foxes, That spoil the vines: For our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth among the lilies.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭KJV‬

Solomon’s song says, “You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together. I know my lover is mine and I have everything in you, for we delight ourselves in each other.” These “foxes” are the compromises that are hidden deep in our hearts.  These are areas of our lives where we have not yet allowed the victory of Christ to shine into.  The foxes keep the fruit of His Spirit from growing within us.  He “feedeth among the lilies” means He takes delight to be a special Friend. That’s what Jesus said just before He was crucified.  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”  Let’s simply believe Jesus and have a relationship with Him as of our Friend to lead the fruitful life He wants us to so that He delights in us.  Amen!

Our True Inheritance in Christ

 “Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As John the beloved disciple recorded, “Jesus replied, “You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear to you.”  Jesus had asked His disciples to remove their sandals so He would wash their feet.  By removing their sandals and washing their feet, Jesus was showing them that He was granting them a new inheritance - His own.  The sandal is often used in covenants of inheritance in Hebrew culture.  Every defilement would be removed so that they could “place the sole of their feet” upon the new covenant inheritance.  God told Moses to remove his sandals, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”  This was because Moses was about to receive a new inheritance - the holiness of God and the authority that came with it.  God told Joshua, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”  After Jesus had washed the disciples feet, and taken His garments, He sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I Am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”  Let’s as believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ know our inheritance and when the world calls us “rice bag Christians”, we should be able to give them the glorious Gospel of their true inheritance in Christ.  Amen!

Let Go and Let God

 “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: For thy love is better than wine.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s song says, “Let him smother me with kisses—his Spirit-kiss divine. So kind are your caresses, I drink them in like the sweetest wine!”  The name Solomon and Shulamite have the same meaning except that one is masculine and the other is feminine.  Solomon points us to the Perfect King, Jesus Christ.  We, who are born of the Spirit, are one spirit with our King, united with Him.  To enter the door of Jesus’s heart, we begin by saying “let Him”.  We only bring Him a yielded heart and let Him do the rest, for God’s loving grace means that Jesus is enough for us.  We don’t begin by doing, but by yielding.  The Spirit kiss is what made Adam, the man of clay, into the living expression of God.  Dust and Deity met when the Maker kissed His Spirit wind into Adam.  The Word of God is the kiss from the mouth of our Beloved, breathing upon us the revelation of His love.  His love is saving love, keeping love, forgiving love and embracing love.  We are intoxicated with His love as He breathes His Word into us as kisses.  So there are three witnesses in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these Three are One.  That’s why we are empowered to be equipped to overcome any situation in our life.  Amen!

Jesus Laid Down His Life for Us

 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬ ‭KJV

John the beloved disciple recorded Jesus’s words, “Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died.”  The “one grain” is Jesus Christ, Who will within days be offered as the Sacrifice for sin on Calvary’s Cross.  He will “drop” into the ground as “a grain of wheat” and bring forth a great “harvest” of “seeds”.  Some non-Jewish seekers requested to see Jesus through Philip and Andrew and Jesus gave this parable in answer.  Jesus was telling His disciples that the non-Jewish will see Jesus through those who follow Him as they too experience the dying and birthing experience.  The harvest among the nations will come when we disciples follow Jesus where He goes. For since we have become one with Him in dying as He did, in the same way we shall be one with Him by being raised to life as He was. We know what real love is from Christ's example in dying for us. And so we also ought to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers.  Amen!